Although Cousins is recovering from an Achilles injury and there is no timetable on his return for the 2018-19 NBA season, the Warriors will eventually have five All-Star players in their starting lineup.

In addition, Cousins answered how the James-led Lakers might fare against the Warriors:

“They’ve got a chance. We’ll see what happens when the ball goes up.”

If the Warriors remain relatively healthy, they are favored to win yet another title. As teams like the Houston Rockets have attempted to outshoot them, the Lakers are going a different route, which has received criticism during the offseason.

Despite James winning three championships in eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances with shooters often surrounding him, Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka opted for tough-minded playmakers in free agency.

Whether it works or not, the Lakers only signed these type of players to one-year contracts and their first test will come on Christmas Day at Oracle Arena.